Step into the Past with Rebecca DeMarino and Win

Welcome to another week at the Diamond Mine. Suzie here this week. I hope everyone is settling into their summer. This week, I'm excited to introduce you to Rebecca DeMarino, author of The Southold Chronicles. Stick around and find out how you can win all three paperbacks in the series.

Rebecca DeMarino writes inspirational historical romance and is the author of The Southold Chronicles (Revell). The three-book series is set in the 17^th century on Long Island and is based on her real-life ninth great-grandparents who came from England on a little ship called The Swallow. Rebecca’s titles include A Place in His Heart (2014). To Capture Her Heart (2015), and To Follow Her Heart (2016). Rebecca inherited her love of baking and gardening from her mom, her love of horses and reading from her dad, and a wanderlust from both her parents!

For more information please visit her at www.RebeccaDeMarino.com and www.facebook.com/AuthorRebeccaDeMarino or tweet her @RebeccaDeMarino.

Suzie: Welcome, Rebecca. You've had a busy summer and we appreciate you stopping by today. I'm going to start with an easy question for you. Ballpoint, Uniball, or fountain pen?  

Rebecca: Uniball gel – I love how it flows!

Suzie: I'm a fan of the gel pens too. My favorite are the pilot G2 pens. Are you an early bird or a night owl?

Rebecca:  Definitely an early bird – much to my husband’s chagrin (who is not). I do my best writing in the wee hours of the morning.

Suzie: You’ve just been given a yacht. What do you name it?  

Rebecca: Writer’s Haven – because I’d want to do all my writing there!

Suzie: Oh, I like it!! Do you have any secret talents? 

Rebecca: I used to be able to ace spelling tests with my photographic memory, though I’m not certain it’s as sharp as it once was :)

Suzie: I'd blame that on technology :). Fill in the blank: Someday I want to ___________.

Rebecca: Reread all my favorite books in my library – I have over 1500! 

Suzie: I think that's something a lot of us can relate to whether it be re-reading or just getting through our TBR lists!! As an author, do you believe in writer’s block? 

Rebecca: Not that a good walk in the country can’t solve!

Suzie: Exercise is indeed good for both the brain and the body!! If you weren’t an author, what would you do for a living?  

Rebecca: In my dream-world I live on a ranch and raise Shires – descendants of the Great Black horses of old England.

Suzie: What place would you like to visit that you haven’t yet? 

Rebecca: Maybe Fiji, but the truth is, I’ve been to England twice and would go back in a minute!  

Suzie: I would visit England in a minute myself. It's on my bucket list. But if you're looking for surf and sand, Fiji would definitely fit that request! What literary character is most like you?  

Rebecca: Hmmm . . . maybe Mary Poppins because I always want to save a situation – but with Jesus as my umbrella and remembering that even when things don’t seem to be working out according to my plans, God has the big picture! BTW – have you seen the movie Saving Mr. Banks with Tom Hanks as Walt Disney and Emma Thompson as P.L. Travers? Great movie – and their portrayals perfect!

Suzie: It was a great movie! Let's switch gears and talk about your characters. Which of your characters is most like you? 

Rebecca: I would love to say Mary Horton – there’s a huge part of me in her (maybe because she’s my 9th great-grandmother!) but really she is made of much stronger stuff than me!

Suzie: Which character was the most difficult to write? 

Rebecca: Barnabas Horton. He is a Puritan who loves God and struggles after the death of his wife, whom he loved very much. But he has two little boys he loves very much as well, and must raise them. He weds Mary because he knows his children need a mother, but he can’t bring himself to love her.

Suzie: What is the craziest or most memorable thing you did in the name of research for your book(s)?

Rebecca:  I spent one whole day in a one-on-one cooking class with food historian Alice Ross on Long Island. She had a cooking studio with a 17^th century hearth and we spent the entire day – from dawn to dusk - chopping wood, maintaining our fire, baking bread, and preparing and cooking meals just as they would in the 1600’s in which my series, The Southold Chronicles, is set. I wanted to feel to my core a day in the life of my heroine, Mary Horton – it was amazing!

Suzie: Wow, that sounds like hard work but a great experience! And I love the pictures!

Was there anything left out of the final draft that you would have liked to keep? 

Rebecca: The story itself remained intact – but my publisher cut the prologue, as they often do! But Revell did stylize it for me and I offer it on my website for free to those who sign up for my newsletter!

Suzie: Finally, what are you working on now?

Rebecca: I just completed my fourth novel, based on the real lives of Dolley and James Madison! I loved the research for that novel, which took me to Pennsylvania, Washington DC and the Library of Congress, James Madison’s Montpelier in Virginia, and the University of Virginia. I’ve made three trips to Montpelier, one of which was for a week where I participated in an archeology dig of the slave quarters on James Madison’s plantation. Talk about inspiring!

Suzie: Wow, sounds like readers have another fantastic read from Rebecca DeMarino ahead of them. Thank you for sharing a little bit of yourself, your characters, and your writing with us. 

Satisfying, Emotionally Rich Conclusion to The Southold Chronicles Series
It is 1664 and Patience Terry is devastated to learn that Captain Jeremy Horton's ship has been shipwrecked off the coast of Barbados, with no survivors. She had hoped that Jeremy would someday give up the sea and settle down with her in Southold, Long Island. 

Unaware his memorial service is being planned, Jeremy is rescued and aboard a British Naval Gunship with secret orders to attack New Amsterdam and claim it for the British Crown. When he makes his surprise return to Southold--and to an overjoyed Patience--it's not the happily-ever-after his beloved had hoped for. 

With a finely tuned sense for authentic historical characters and settings, Rebecca DeMarino plunges readers into the 17th century--a world of high seas and tall ships, daring journeys and yearning hearts.

Order here

Rebecca is graciously giving one reader all three books (paperback) of The Southold Chronicles. To enter, leave a comment here. You can say hi to Rebecca or just tell us what your summer vacation plans are (or where your dream vacation is if you're don't have one planned). Contest is valid only after five unique commentors. Winner will be drawn on Thursday, July 13, 2017.  You can get one bonus entry by following Rebecca on a social media platform or subscribing to her newsletter (be sure and come back here and let us know you did so).